Advanced Health Assessment and Clinical Reasoning
NSGD 2256 AHA Final Exam 2026 Questions and
Correct Answers Graded A+ (Pace University)
The nurse is assessing a female patient at the neighborhood clinic. The patient
reports frequent shortness of breath and dizziness. The nurse knows that these
symptoms may be an underlying symptom of which condition?
Myocardial infarction
The nurse is assessing the sleep patterns of a patient when the patient reports
having trouble sleeping when lying flat. Which is the best response by the nurse?
Use pillows to prop yourself up while sleeping.
A patient is experiencing periods of confusion, and the family is concerned. The
patient’s son asks the nurse for an explanation and recommendation. Which is the
best response by the nurse?
"Your father may be having mini-strokes; I will notify his healthcare provider."
,Advanced Health Assessment and Clinical Reasoning
A patient is questioning the nurse about circulation and perfusion. Which response
about perfusion by the nurse is the best?
"It is the flow of blood through arteries and capillaries delivering nutrients and
oxygen to cells."
What is the purpose of including exercise and activity in a cardiac rehabilitation
program?
- Increase cardiac output
- Increase blood flow through the arteries
- Increase muscle mass
- Increase flexibility
A nursing instructor assigns the clinical group the task of writing a journal
depicting the student’s clinical day. What is the most likely rationale for this
assignment?
Allows reflection, an important aspect of clinical judgement.
,Advanced Health Assessment and Clinical Reasoning
Which statement best describes clinical reasoning?
Includes the thinking used for analyzing knowledge relative to a clinical situation
or specific patient.
Tanner’s Clinical Judgment Model, the most commonly used model in nursing
education and based on three decades of research, has different stages. Which is a
stage of Tanner’s Clinical Judgment Model?
- Noticing
- Interpreting
- Responding
- Reflecting
Which communication term can be applied to this statement: How messages are
received and interpreted would include personal states such as mood disturbance,
environmental stimuli related to the setting of the communication, and contextual
variables?
Metacommunication
What is the MOST significant modifiable risk factor for the development of
impaired gas exchange?
, Advanced Health Assessment and Clinical Reasoning
Tobacco use
When reviewing the concept of gas exchange, how should the nurse BEST
describe the movement of oxygen and carbon dioxide?
Gas moves from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure across the
alveolar membrane.
A healthcare provider writes a prescription for arterial blood gases (ABG). What
should the nurse recognize that this test is used to detect?
Status of acid-base balance in arterial blood.
The nurse is administering oral glucocorticoids to a patient with asthma. What
finding indicates a therapeutic response to the medication?
No observable respiratory difficulty or shortness of breath over the last 24 hours.
The nurse is caring for a patient with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
(COPD). The patient tells the nurse he is having a "hard time breathing." His RR is
32, P 120, O2 90%. Which action should the nurse take?
Initiate oxygen via a nasal cannula, and begin at a flow rate of 2L/min.
NSGD 2256 AHA Final Exam 2026 Questions and
Correct Answers Graded A+ (Pace University)
The nurse is assessing a female patient at the neighborhood clinic. The patient
reports frequent shortness of breath and dizziness. The nurse knows that these
symptoms may be an underlying symptom of which condition?
Myocardial infarction
The nurse is assessing the sleep patterns of a patient when the patient reports
having trouble sleeping when lying flat. Which is the best response by the nurse?
Use pillows to prop yourself up while sleeping.
A patient is experiencing periods of confusion, and the family is concerned. The
patient’s son asks the nurse for an explanation and recommendation. Which is the
best response by the nurse?
"Your father may be having mini-strokes; I will notify his healthcare provider."
,Advanced Health Assessment and Clinical Reasoning
A patient is questioning the nurse about circulation and perfusion. Which response
about perfusion by the nurse is the best?
"It is the flow of blood through arteries and capillaries delivering nutrients and
oxygen to cells."
What is the purpose of including exercise and activity in a cardiac rehabilitation
program?
- Increase cardiac output
- Increase blood flow through the arteries
- Increase muscle mass
- Increase flexibility
A nursing instructor assigns the clinical group the task of writing a journal
depicting the student’s clinical day. What is the most likely rationale for this
assignment?
Allows reflection, an important aspect of clinical judgement.
,Advanced Health Assessment and Clinical Reasoning
Which statement best describes clinical reasoning?
Includes the thinking used for analyzing knowledge relative to a clinical situation
or specific patient.
Tanner’s Clinical Judgment Model, the most commonly used model in nursing
education and based on three decades of research, has different stages. Which is a
stage of Tanner’s Clinical Judgment Model?
- Noticing
- Interpreting
- Responding
- Reflecting
Which communication term can be applied to this statement: How messages are
received and interpreted would include personal states such as mood disturbance,
environmental stimuli related to the setting of the communication, and contextual
variables?
Metacommunication
What is the MOST significant modifiable risk factor for the development of
impaired gas exchange?
, Advanced Health Assessment and Clinical Reasoning
Tobacco use
When reviewing the concept of gas exchange, how should the nurse BEST
describe the movement of oxygen and carbon dioxide?
Gas moves from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure across the
alveolar membrane.
A healthcare provider writes a prescription for arterial blood gases (ABG). What
should the nurse recognize that this test is used to detect?
Status of acid-base balance in arterial blood.
The nurse is administering oral glucocorticoids to a patient with asthma. What
finding indicates a therapeutic response to the medication?
No observable respiratory difficulty or shortness of breath over the last 24 hours.
The nurse is caring for a patient with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
(COPD). The patient tells the nurse he is having a "hard time breathing." His RR is
32, P 120, O2 90%. Which action should the nurse take?
Initiate oxygen via a nasal cannula, and begin at a flow rate of 2L/min.
